MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 775, 26 March 1910, Page 14

MUSIC.

.(By Teeble CiiE?.)

Bo] Sorel. Mdlle. Bel Sorel, tho prima donna of Williamson's New Grand Company, inherits her musical'ability from her mother, who was well known in Norway, Sweden, and Donmark as a concert singer, and with whom little Bel,, then only five years of age, travelled as a solo pianist. .At a later stage the daughter developed a voice which gave promise of great possibilities, and she-was. sent -to'Vißulow, the renowned teacher, to have -it cultivated. So apt,and intelligent a pupil did she prove that it was decided to have, her trained for an operatic career, and, with this end in view,.she visited Paris and Milan. At the latter city she met Edouardo Sonzogno, who was so pleased with her singing that he engaged her at once for the part of Mimi in Leoncavallo's "Boheme"—a great compliment considering her youth and comparative inexperience.:-; ■ However, she quite justified the faith reposed in her, and was rewarded by :,being re-en-gaged for "Mignon," "Nozze di Figaro," and "ManonePaghacci," in all of which works she appeared at the Lyric I Theatre, Milan. Then followed a season | in' Trieste, in "Manon" and Massenet's "Cendrillon." The composer 'of the last-named opera was so delighted with her work that he-sent her a photograph of/.himself, with .these words thereon:—"Gloire. a vous, divine et charmante 'Cehdrillon.'" .Seasons in Rome and Turin were then undertaken successfully, and thereafter Mdlle. Sorel was invited to appear, at the Imperial Theatre in Warsaw, one of the most fampus opera houses'in Europe. During this season she was associated with CaTuso, playing Mimi:to his Rudolph in Puccini's ,"La Boheme." She also appeared as Violetta_ to Caruso's 'Alfred,: and Carmen to'his,San Jos; She has visited professionally nearly all the "prinicipal centres of Europe, and, in' Madrid in' particular, she scored' a triumph with her presentation of_ "Carmen',' .which-was spoken of as "inimitable, full of fascination and dramatic power." .'. That .Mdlle./Sorel : is highly thought of .by Puccini, the composer of "Madame" Butterfly," is proved by the fact that, 'when: the..'latter heard i that she 'was coming out to Australia to take the name v part 'in his work,. he wrote to her expressing: his pleasure' that his beloved "Butterfly."' was to be introduced''to music lovers here by so brilliant an artist; ,-.

"Salome", and-the;, Censor. 7.1t is reported: (says the 'London "Standard") that Dr. Strauss, is in no 'small measure astonished and disappointed by the : refusal of the censor to-allow "Salome" to; be performed at Covent Garden. Small wonder that he' cannot understand such an action con-, sidering _ that.; the opera. has ■ been performed in-many of the principal cities in»Etlrope.and in New York. Moreover, if the -refusals-is based; on the ground that, the' "opera is associated wjth' 'a Biblical subject, the .ban of >the censor is illogical, considering that - "Samson and Delilah" and "Herodiade"—each of;.which is founded on, a Biblical sub' ject-7-have both been- licensed and' performed.rat, Ctovent,Garden. Mr. Beeoham, therefore-" has" every, reason to -feel.'aggrieved that.his efforts'to include "SalomeV.;in the I .!repertoire of his forthcoming; opera season have not met with the success they'deserve. He is,' howover, it is satisfactory to ; learn, receiving much encouragemenfby' the libera) support given by the musical pubjjic towards his ■ operatic scheme. fe'i'!-"' -"■-,;• ;- ; - .'• Notes, ■■ ■' ■ '-.'''' . . ; ' . ; Lovers of a song well, sung will learn with pleasure of-the7intaation":of Miss, Amy Murphy to give a concert in Wellington prior to !her return to Sydney, where she is doing so well. Miss Murphy is one'of the: very best lyrical so-, pranos New Zealand has produced, her work always being/distinguished by vocal finish- and'-understanding. Miss Murphy triefl-the'musical comedy stage, and did not-succeed. She might have done so had she; studied for the stage ten- or twelve years', ago; but , all her training has been in -connection with •the concert or oratorio'platform, and that, engenders ascertain'habit—a sort; of -holding backV^-'something : tliat prevents one letting'.'onself go, which the comic opera stage'demands, and hugely. At the same time we'hear very few, voices in the rank's of the icomic-opera or musical comedy; companies that v have visited New comparable with the innate refinement, and; of course, the subsequent culture of, Miss■ Murphy's, vocalism./ That she was unable to throw herself-into the giddy; mum-, mery of musical. comedy will perhaps; serve only to strengthen the affection' which the public7bas for Miss Murphy on the concert platform.

•Madame Agnes/Jansen,' of the Conseryatorium of Music, who has just re-, turned to Melbourne from Europe, was entertained by the, members'- of the Swedish Club at'the Savoy. She was charged by the King of Sweden with a special message ti> the Swedes in Australia, and his Majesty forwarded by ■Madame Jansen ,ah autographed photograph of himself ;to the club. Mr. Berger, president'of .the club, was in the chair, ahd proposed" the toast of the evening. 7 ■ •'

; The London correspondent of the "Australasian" cables that Miss Florence Schmidt, the well-known soprano of Queensland,-and Miss Elsie Hall, of Sydney, who has achieved distinction as a pianist, gavei a recital in the Bechstein Hall, on Wednesday night, March 2.-; The newspapers on the foDowing day contained favourable notice's of the recital. ,:

Mr. Percy Grainger, the, Australian pianist, left England'' during the second week in January for a, tour in Scandinavia. He. will give recitals at Christiania, Copenhagen, and an orchestral concert at Bergen. ' He also' announces recitals in Amsterdam and other towns in Holland.

Mr. Ernest Toy, the Queensland violinist, who is well known in New Zealand, has been appointed leader of the orchestra' of Williamson's new Grand Opera Company which commences its season in Sydney this evening.. Mr. Toy has had a great deal of experience on the .Continent, more especially in Paris and Monte' Carlo, is the fortunate possessor of a' Gaspare di Salo violin, which formally belonged to the Norwegian virtuoso Ole -Bull, who used it, oh account of its large'tone, for his appearance in the. Great Market Place Hall of Moscow. - Ole Bull died in 1880, and another great ,'player, Wilhelmj, acquired it a year'later, just be-' fore.; his Australian tour. . The instrument was presented to Mr.' Toy in 1902 by a party of Queenslaaders headed by Lord Lamington and Mr. Lionel Robinson. Just before'returning to Australia three years ago Mr. Toy was supporting Mme. Ella Ilussell in a tour of the United Kingdom, and used to join that,.soprano in Gounod's "Ave Maria,", an obbligato which.he played in Brisbane six months ago with Mme. Melba. Last year Mr. Toy toured New Zea- \ land on his own account with his.sister, -Miss Lillian Toy, as pianist, and he has renewed his -acquaintance with Melbourne His artistic experience- should eminently fit him for this new' position in Italian opera.

Mr. AYilliam Cromwell joins the new comic opera company; for "The Arcadians," and makes his first appearance •by falling into,a new • world; from an air-ship> '

and the resignations of good trained men were handed in in twos and- threes at almost'every parade. Work was not available in the district, so they must needs seek it elsewhere; but the-tone of the resignations showed with what regret these .men left the company. - "Mention must be made of . P.O. Barr," continued the report. "In the hope that better times were coming, and that he would be able to return, he applied for six months' leave and went to Australia. There he obtained employment on the s.s. Waratah. The fate of that vessel no one knows, but if P.O. Barr has gone to his doom, he takes with him; the love and respect of the officers' and men of this oompany."

The transfer of C.P.O. Pan-ant to the reserve left a big gap in the ranks—a gap that only a keen and| energetic man.such as C.P.O. Finlay oonld fill. Nineteen men in all resigned during the year. It became necessary just before ,the annual training camp to make a special effort to obtain recruits; it having ; been' discovered that. the. company, would be penalised if ■ it was below a certain establishment. That the men who were left and the recruits worked well during the camp is abundantly proved by the report of Captain G. S. Richardson. ' Captain Richardson's Report. ' The report on the annual training camp at Fort Kelbutne, from October 22 to November 6, stated • that previous • to the oompany camp the.officers went through a seven days' course'for the purpose of receiving special instruction in artillery work,'and as a result of this the officers were able to personally, instruct their own details in technical subjects during the company camp. During the year Captain Freeman had been transferred to the active list, and the company was now commanded by Captain Ellis, who is an efficient officer. Last year there were three subalterns, but tuis year, there were • only two j they were both, however, good instructors; capable of lecturing en technical subjects, very keen and efficient. The strength of the oompany was 81, which was exactly its strength at tho end of last year.: There had, howover, been a greater number of recruits in the personnel. Trade depression had caused a number to leave the district, and tho company had suffered in consequence. The attendance had been quite up to the standard of former years; in fact the marks for attendance at the camp would be : nearly 100 per cent. The hours of parade daily were from 5 a.m. to 6.30 a.m., and .from 6.30 p.m. to' 9 p.m., giving a total of about 60 hours' drill.or the equivalent .of >its>-days' twiuing. The marks for com-.

A new' feature of this year's camp was tho training of every- man in the oompany as a semaphore'' signaller. This was actually carried out without in any way interfering with the ordinary drills, and every man from the 0;G. to the junior trumpeter-was tested and found able to send and v receive simple messages, while about 75 per cent, passed the test at six words per minute. One of, the signallers converted the O.P. signalling lamps for burning- acetylene gas. This was most satisfactory. Of the 35 gun-layers in the company 29 passed and 6 failed. The average marks to count for shield - were 99, which was very high, but from this five marks have been deducted for an error on the part of a young layer at service practice, making the total 92.77. Of the four trumpeters in the company three were classified as very good and one fair. They were trained as specialists in other work.

The fort was well and fully manned in each series of company service practice, and the fire discipline, and drill on each occasion ' was excellent. No penalties were made under the heading of fort manning. The company had sufficient numbers to man Fort Kelburne with one relief, but not sufficient for two reliefs. The total required for two reliefs is 84, the total available being 81. Marks awarded, 46.3. The discipline during the camp had been very good. Marks awarded, 49.5, out of total of 50.

Coast Artillery Practice. The company, again' secured third place in the competition for the Coast Artillery Cup,(Figure of Merit, 1.01), . which was won this year by the No. 1 Company, Canterbury . Division. .'•, The . returns for the Efficiency Shield were not all completed, but it was evident .that the company could not be far from the top. With a muster of 102 ' at present and a fine lot of recruits : anxious to join, it should be an easy matter to go into camp next year with' 100 good well-trained men. The junior N'.C.O'.'s, several of whom, by the way, ' were no models for good attendance, should use their influence to attain this. ; object. The Zealandia Cup still re- '■. mained in possession of the company. It was won this year by No. 1 cutter, P.O. Edmonds (cox.), after a drifting match lasting nearly two hours, No. 2 cutter, Wellington Navals, P.O. Roberts (cox.). being second. Tho annual cutter race'was again won by a crew : under Lieut. Price (J, Ryan, stroke). . P.O. Edmond'having come back'to this ' district took his old place in charge of the Sounds cruise, of which seventeen members availed themselves this year. The ( weather., interfered considerably : . mm the' enjoyment'■*>£ the- MenV

tion might also be made of those men who turned out on Sunday in August and spent the whole day tramping the hills round Day's Bay, seeking an unfortunate woman who was lost in that locality. Their action testifies to the unselfish spirit that pervades the company. This year LieutonantColonol G. F. C. Campbell, VJD., presented to P.O. Driscoll the Long and Efficient Service Medal for 16 years' efficient service. Surgeon-Captain Perry, who had acted as medical officer to this company for many years, had left the district. The following trophies had been won outright during the year:—Wilford Cup and gold medal, Gunner M'Farlanc; Collet's trophy and Mr. A. Coles's trophy, Gunner Pettett; Geraldine trophy, ■ Gunner Walsh. End of the Volunteer System. The report concludes: "Twentyeighth of February, 1910, and the end of the volunteer system in the Dominion, Every volunteer is wondering and asking what is going to happen now, and no one seems to be able to give an authoritative answer. In regard to this company our duty is clear—to stick together and obey orders. The traditions of a company such as this are a valuable although intangible asset. The members of the company who have gone before us worked hard for their corps. By their efforts'they were able to hand down to us the present members of the P.N.A.V. records, of which any body of men should.be proud. It is our obvious duty to guard that which has been given to us in trust, so that we can hand over to our successors the traditions and the good name this corps has always possessed. It is only by sticking together at this crisis that we shall be able to prevent their good work and ours being lost forever." Long Service. Ex-C.P\O. Parrant and Ex-Lieuten-ant Woods were elected honorary members in recognition of past services. General Management, Shooting, and Boating Committees were elected, and Gunner Pettett and Mr. J. Leadbeate'r were appointed auditors.